10 top tech gadgets and apps for frazzled parents

Mar. 16, 2014
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The Artkive app. / Artkive

by Jennifer Jolly , Special for USA TODAY

by Jennifer Jolly , Special for USA TODAY

We shuttle kids, juggle schedules, work harder and longer hours than ever before now that we're tethered to our tech 24/7. And we're supposed to do it all while providing a Pinterest-perfect home life. Ack, the pressure! The good news is that out of today's hyper-connected world comes a few simple tech tools that help make a busy parents life a little easier. Here are 10 of my favorite go-to gadgets and apps:

1. For safety peace of mind: Life 360

With a million schedules to keep straight I worry all the time that I'm forgetting to pick someone up at the right place at the right time. Life 360 is a big help with making sure everyone in the family is where they're supposed to be: safe, sound, and in touch. It's a free app that you set up on your phone, then invite your family to join on their mobile devices. It provides a map that shows you where they are - in real time - and lets them see you as well. It also has a geo-fencing feature that lets you set up a perimeter on the map for a designated location, like home, school or soccer practice. You get an automatic alert every time a family member arrives or departs from that designated area on the map. For emergencies, there's even a panic button. If someone pushes it, the app e-mails, texts and sends push notifications to everyone in the family, with a detailed map to let everyone see exact locations.

2. When you can't wait three weeks to see a doctor: ZocDoc

When your little one is sick in the middle of the night, ZocDoc (iPhone, Android) can come to the rescue. It's a free app that lets you find a nearby, in-network doctor, see their availability and instantly book an appointment online. You can do this 24/7, even if the doctor's office is closed. It also has reliable reviews and links to specific pediatrician resources in your area. With ZocDoc, the average wait time for an appointment is one to three days.

3. When you can't wait 10 minutes to get an expert opinion: Pearl.com

When waiting even 10 minutes to talk with a doctor, lawyer, veterinarian, auto mechanic, plumber or computer expert is too long, Pearl.com has 10,000 highly vetted specialists in 700 fields standing by to help. Sure, everyone uses Google for minor questions - but for specific and credible answers to "What's this rash on my face?" "Why is my dog gagging like that?" or "Why is my computer frozen?" - Pearl.com is a great go-to. The average wait-time to get a question answered is 7.5 minutes, and all of the professionals are vetted through an eight-step process, including background checks and a test to prove their skills. Of course, 24/7 access to these folks does come at a price, about $25 for one question, or you can buy bundles that let you resolve three issues for $39 to $59, depending on the topic.

4. When your smartphone needs a personal assistant: EasilyDo

Sometimes your smartphone doesn't feel smart enough, especially when you have to tap 15 different apps to find all of the information you need right now. The free app EasilyDo (iPhone, Android) takes important information from all your other apps such as your calendar, social media accounts, e-mail accounts, travel apps, etc., and gives it to you in a clean, organized, easy to read feed. It digs out birthdays and noteworthy events from your contacts, LinkedIn and Facebook and lets you send a note or card right from the app. You can connect it with your phone's GPS and daily schedule to send your spouse an e-mail or text when you've left the office. You can get even use it to manage all of your travel, including real-time travel alerts for gate changes, flight delays and more.

5. When you need eyes in the back of your head: Dropcam

No matter how hard we modern parents try, we still can't be everywhere at once. Short of teleporting, a new spate of connected home video cameras offers a way to check in from wherever you are. My favorite of these so far (it's the easiest to set up and use right away) is the Dropcam Pro, $199. It's an HD video camera that you plug in at home, connect to your Wi-Fi, then connect with an app on your mobile device or computer. You can view live video, talk directly to people and pets, and even get alerts via e-mail or smartphone. Dropcam has infrared night vision, motion detection and with cloud video recording, can save up to 30 days' worth of clips to watch back later. I love using Dropcam to check in to make sure my daughter is home safe and doing her homework (not playing Angry Birds) after school.

6. Clutter control for all that precious artwork that's too cute to trash: Artkive

It happens every year - our kids bring home a gallery full of "brilliant" artwork from school. We proudly plaster it all over the fridge and office walls. And every year, we go through that agonizing decision wrought with overwhelming guilt - what to stash and what to trash? The Artkive app (iPhone, Android) is genius. It's one of the fastest and easiest ways to take, tag, share and chronologically store your kids' art and schoolwork. Just create an account and type in your children's names and grades. When artwork comes home, you take a picture with your phone, pick the child who created it - and the app automatically tags the image with their name, grade and the date. You can share all of the artwork with your family and friends via Facebook. You can even order a hard-cover book of all your kid's work (prices starts at $25).

7. You're tired of nagging your kids to take out the trash: ChoreMonster

If you're sick and tired of asking, cajoling, threatening or just plain telling your kids to do something, give ChoreMonster (iPhone, Windows Phone) a try. It turns a seemingly endless list of kid-allergic chores into an interactive game and gives youngsters a reason to get their tasks done. Unlike other chore trackers apps, this one comes in a parents' version and a kids' version. For adults, it lets you set up task lists, deadlines, rewards and points for getting jobs done. When kids sign in, they can see what they have to do, and get rewards for jobs well done. The part kids will enjoy the most - other than maybe scoring an iPad for washing the dishes 500 times - is collecting humorous monster characters. Complete certain chore milestones and kids automatically collect monsters. Kind of like how we old folks used to collect baseball cards or Cabbage Patch Dolls.

8. When you can't waste time looking for your keys, glasses, or phone: StickR

Tracker gadgets are another hot trend for busy families in 2014. One that's coming out this spring is the StickR TrackR. It easily attaches to keys, glasses, smartphones, purses, backpacks, just about anything you need to keep track of, then pairs with an app on your computer or mobile device. With a tap of your finger, you can cause the lost item to ring, and find it in a few seconds. You can also press the button on the StickR TrackR to cause your phone to ring, even on silent mode! It even reminds you before you leave your phone behind for the day with a two-way separation alert. And just in case you don't hear the alert, the app will display a map to show you where you left your valuable items.

9. Social network for your own neighborhood: Nextdoor

Some of us still remember when a social network consisted of our neighbors and a community of people who lived nearby. When you need to borrow some sugar, or find someone to take care of your cat while you're away, Nextdoor is a free social network for your neighborhood. One person signs up and then each neighborhood creates a private social network that's only open to the people who actually live there. The site becomes a hub for local events, school activities, plumber and babysitter recommendations, recent crime activity, upcoming garage sales or even lost pets.

10. When you just need one decent date-night to save the day: UrbanSitter

When it comes to finding a babysitter you can trust, UrbanSitter lets parents search, book and review local babysitters within minutes. Parents sign up for UrbanSitter using Facebook Connect and can view sitters known through friends or affiliations - including schools, sports teams and parents groups. You can also see each sitter's availability in order to select a sitter for a specific date and time, or plan an outing when you know your favorite sitter is available. For most parents, a friend's recommendation is the ultimate endorsement.

What are some of the tech tools or apps that you use to help you navigate raising kids in our wired world? Be sure to let us know.

Jennifer Jolly is an Emmy Award-winning consumer tech contributor and host of USA TODAY's digital video show TECH NOW. E-mail her at techcomments@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JenniferJolly.